*** "THE DEFAMATION of Islam, and discrimination against Muslims, represents the most notable demonstration of contemporary racism and intolerance."

(Pakistani Ambassador at the UN, Munir Akram, addressing the General Assembly urging the UN to take action to stop Muslim bashing)

*** "IF THAT was the case, why not talk about Israel's weapons and its non-compliance with UN resolutions?"

(A Saudi student criticizing the US policy to wage war against Iraq for alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction and non-compliance of UN resolutions)

*** "DOES HE REALLY hate the Army?"

(Unnamed US Army officer commenting on the growing gulf between Defence Secretray Donald Rumsfeld and Pentagon)

*** "YOU HAVE TO BE BLIND to think that people under oppression won't rebel. Suicide bombing is a new phenomenon. It happened after 30 years. This just shows how bad the situation in the territories has become."

(Israeli tank commander, Major Rami Kaplan, refusing to serve in the held Palestinian territories. He is imprisoned for laying down his gun saying that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories on the West Bank and Gaza is illegal and soldiers have a duty not to take part in an illegal enterprise)

*** "WE MAKE no apology for supporting a legitimate defence industry."

(Spokeswoman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair dismissing reports that he pressed his Indian counterpart Atal Behari Vajpayee during a personal meeting to buy Hawk jets at a time of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan)

*** "WE STILL have two billion people who can't regularly get medicines when they need them, at a quality they trust and at a price they or their community can afford."

(Head of United Nations World Health Organisation, Jonathan Quick, saying that one-third of the world's population has no access to life-saving drugs)

*** "THESE RESULTS are concerning and we can only conclude from this that Britain certainly is 'dumbing down.'"

(Editor of a survey conducted in Britain showing that one in ten Britons cannot name a single foreign leader when 42 per cent cannot name a single member of the British government)

*** "A FEW PEOPLE in China have gotten rich beyond imagination, and the government needs to show that it controls rich people, too."

(A finance expert at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing justifying Chinese government's clamp down on showy nouveau riche)

*** "JUST OUTSIDE THE PRISON, I burst into tears... I could not stand the situation when I realized how much Israel is trying to insult our people, leaders and national figures."

(Wife of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, Fadwa, saying she was unable to control her emotions right after she resisted to hold back her tears to keep the morale of her husband high during a visit to jail)

*** "WE'RE A VERY PRAGMATIC people. We're not tied to any ideology. We think of ourselves as Muslim fundamentalists. And that has given us strength."

(Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Muhammad saying that he is a Muslim fundamentalist "because those who do not understand the basics make all kind of interpretations about Islam")

*** "HOW MANY in your organization has been held accountable for failures."

(US Senator Carl Levin blasting chief of country's top intelligence agency CIA, George Tenet, for failure to security lapses)

*** "WE HAVE achieved our objectives of the deployment."

(Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes rebutting critics accusing him of incurring a huge financial loss by deploying troops on the Pakistani border. India has begun withdrawal of the troops amassed on the border since mid-December last year)

*** "STOP BEGGING. Ever since 1957 the Arabs have been negotiating for (the return of) 42 per cent of Palestine, while the Africans have not let go of an inch of their territory."

(Libyan leader Moamer Qaddafi threatening to quit 22-member Arab League for being docile to stop Israeli aggression against Palestinians and US threats against Iraq)